On December 12, 2019  the Embassy, together with the leadership of the Yerevan State University and the dean's office of the Faculty of international relations, co-hosted  the exhibition "140 years of Bulgarian diplomatic service".

The opening of the exhibition was preceeded by a lecture delivered by Ambassador Maria Pavlova for the students of the masters programs of the Faculty of international relations, dedicated to the achievements and challenges of Bulgaria and Bulgarian foreign policy in the light of the 140th anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian diplomatic service. The Ambassador was happy to engage in interactive dialogue with the students and answer their questions.

The opening of the exhibition was attended by ambassadors, representatives of the diplomatic corps, diplomats from the MFA of Armenia, members of the Bulgarian-Armenian society for friendship and cultural relations, former students of Bulgarian universities, students from the Faculty of international relations. In her welcoming speech Ambassador Maria Pavlova introduced the initiative dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian diplomatic service. Mrs. Pavlova expressed her gratitude to the leadership of Yerevan State University and the Faculty of international relations for their hospitality and exemplary partnership in  hosting once again the present Embassy’s initiative.

She stated that the modern and institutionally-based foreign service in Bulgaria was founded on July 19, 1879, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religious Denominations was established and the first diplomatic missions of Bulgaria were opened in the neighboring countries. Amb. Pavlova shared interesting data about the first Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religious Denominations and the diplomatic missions at that time, which were headed by highly educated and reputable Bulgarians. It was emphasized that the success of the two major events of Bulgarian history during this period - the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia and the proclamation of Bulgarian Independence in 1908 were done by Bulgarians themselves, without reliance on any of the Great Powers at the time and that the Bulgarian diplomacy had a key contribution to this success. Amb. Pavlova praised Bulgarian statesmen, diplomats and public figures by naming just a few - Stefan Stambolov, Konstantin Stoilov, Alexander Malinov, Simeon Radev.. Turning to present days, Mrs. Pavlova identified the role of the Bulgarian diplomatic service as extremely important for pursuing current foreign policy priorities and upholding democratic values.

It was stated that thanks to consistent efforts of the Bulgarian diplomacy over the past 25 years the two main foreign policy priorities were attained - securing NATO membership of Bulgaria in 2004 and the EU integration in 2007. The first Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in 2018 was highlighted among the successes of the diplomatic service, as well.